Design Details

This week, we talk about the art of creating unsolicited redesigns at work — how to approach them, how to wrangle complexity and rabbit holes, and what to do when you have something worth sharing. In the Sidebar, we share our strategies to become a better storyteller and presentation builder.Golden Ratio Supporters:Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here!The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.Latest VIP Patrons:Justin NeelyMichael DeGothseirChris BarrettAnita MiskovicKyrylo KholopkinRichard LaxaKevin TurnerImran AshrafShuhu

This week, we recap how we grew, and the things we learned, in 2021. In The Sidebar, we look forward to 2022 and talk about some of our personal and professional goals for the new year.Sponsor:Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators, who are collectively supported by more than 8 million patrons. So far, Patreon has paid out more than $2.5 billion to creators, and are now on pace to pay out over $100 million every month.Patreon's design team is small, but growing. The opportunity for impact on the product, and on millions of creators and patrons around the world, can't be overstated. The team is dedicated to leveling up the craft of Patreon's products, shipping beautiful experiences, and building the best tools to help anyone make a living on the internet.If you're a designer looking for your next level up, get in touch with Patreon's design team a

This week, we were invited to have a rant session about the little things in modern software that drive us nuts. A complainisode! In the Sidebar, we share our strategies for having a successful design challenge interview loop.Sponsor:Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators, who are collectively supported by more than 8 million patrons. So far, Patreon has paid out more than $2.5 billion to creators, and are now on pace to pay out over $100 million every month.Patreon's design team is small, but growing. The opportunity for impact on the product, and on millions of creators and patrons around the world, can't be overstated. The team is dedicated to leveling up the craft of Patreon's products, shipping beautiful experiences, and building the best tools to help anyone make a living on the internet.If you're a designer looking for your next level up,

This week, we talk about the pros and cons of working on a remote design team, and what we think the future of design organizations will look like in a post-pandemic world. In The Sidebar, we talk about how to weigh compensation against your career trajectory.Sponsor:Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators, who are collectively supported by more than 8 million patrons. So far, Patreon has paid out more than $2.5 billion to creators, and are now on pace to pay out over $100 million every month.Patreon's design team is small, but growing. The opportunity for impact on the product, and on millions of creators and patrons around the world, can't be overstated. The team is dedicated to leveling up the craft of Patreon's products, shipping beautiful experiences, and building the best tools to help anyone make a living on the internet.If you're a designe

This week, we discuss the humble cursor and its role in affording interactivity in software design. In The Sidebar, we talk about the long term impact of the features we build, the importance of smart defaults, and the value of time well spent in our products.Sponsor:Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators, who are collectively supported by more than 8 million patrons. So far, Patreon has paid out more than $2.5 billion to creators, and are now on pace to pay out over $100 million every month.Patreon's design team is small, but growing. The opportunity for impact on the product, and on millions of creators and patrons around the world, can't be overstated. The team is dedicated to leveling up the craft of Patreon's products, shipping beautiful experiences, and building the best tools to help anyone make a living on the internet.If you're a designe

This week, we share our strategies and motivations for teaching design at work. In The Sidebar, we talk about the shape of software, how we visualize the tools we build, and what it means for software to feel like something physical.Golden Ratio Supporters:Sympli brings its modern design handoff and design version control tools to your secure environment. Upgrade your collaboration workflow with Sympli's self-Hosted option. Learn more at Sympli.io.Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here.Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home servic

This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this? In The Sidebar, we share our must-have macOS apps that are always installed first on a new machine.Golden Ratio Supporters:Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here.Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and th

This week, we reflect on why it is that talking about building a side project can often reduce your motivation to actually finish the project. We dig into our latest side project progress and share tips for maintaining momentum. In The Sidebar, we recap Google’s Pixel 6 event and share our hot takes on the latest phones and software announcements.Golden Ratio Supporters:Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here.Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping prod

This week, we talk about our processes for reviewing UI and making sure that things are shipping as close to spec as possible. In The Sidebar, we recap Apple’s Unleashed event, sharing our favorite moments and spicy takes.Golden Ratio Supporters:Sympli builds design version control and developer handoff tools to help teams collaborate on screen designs. Check out their design-to-development plugins for all major design tools, including a version control app for Sketch, Sympli.io.Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Play is currently looking for talented iOS Engineers to join their team — apply here!Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring

This week, we talk about the new Stripe Press website, pasting behavior in Figma, the latest tvOS UI, and the importance of using fake data in placeholder copy. In The Sidebar, we share our tools and strategies for remembering the important things that come up in our day-to-day work.Golden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just raised a $270m series E, so now's the time!Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Check out Play at

This week, we recall our most recent “wow” moments with the products in our lives. What are yours? In The Sidebar, we talk about different loading state strategies and their impact on the user experience.Golden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just raised a $270m series E, so now's the time!Latest VIP Patrons:Max GeorgopoulosChristina JacobsMerrisa TangLiam SheppardMichael GoliverSam RyanThe Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.Main Topic:This week, we recall our most recent “wow” moments with the products in our lives. W

This week, we talk about design mentorship: what does an effective mentor do, how to find a mentor, how to avoid giving bad career advice, and more. In The Sidebar, we talk about obsessing over the pixels, wasting time on unimportant details, and how to tell the difference between polish and procrastination.Golden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just raised a $270m series E, so now's the time!Latest VIP Patrons:BilalAJ PatshkowskiBen CFirst Name, pause, Last NameSam HermesSid KshetrapalNachiket NanotyHoyinThe Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at

This week, we talk about how we combat perfectionism in our side projects, the value of shipping, and why sharing a project too early can backfire. In the Sidebar, we recap Apple’s September event with our hot takes and spicy opinions.Golden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just raised a $270m series E, so now's the time!Latest VIP Patrons:KyleSkyler SchainElena NewbroughDominique HornerColin ChapinKeiron BoswellEva RatcliffeMike WacloAleksey NikitinCliff WarrenEdward GyngellStevie RodgerSarah Catherine SmithThe Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up a

This week, we follow up on last week’s conversation about designing at agencies, hiring contractors, Yelp’s app icons, and Bock’s Constant. In the Sidebar, we talk about designing with your mind’s eye and how learning to brain-prototype will help fast-track your growth as a designer.Latest VIP Patrons:DarionXinran WangÓlafur Sverrir KjartanssonAdam CollierGenghis MendozaMojAndrei SlobtsovChase SimmonsJustin BaughnDerek ShirkMisael AbreuIf you’re in New York, come meet up at Makeshift.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.Main Topic:This week, we follow up on last week’s conversation about designing at agencies, hiring contractors, Yelp’s app icons, and Bock’s Constant.Brian Leach followed up and talked about how in-house designers might experience creative atrophy.Raffaele asked when a product company should hire an external agency.Genghis Mend

This week, we compare agency vs. in-house design work, dissect the tradeoffs, and share interview tips for anyone moving from an agency to a product company. In The Sidebar, we share our favorite Keynote tips and tricks and our top strategy for telling a more clear story in a deck.Sponsor:Baronfig makes tools for thinkers: guided journals, simple notebooks, writing instruments, bags, desk organizers, travel accessories, and more. Their products are beautiful, functional, and simple — we use them and love them. Use the promo code DESIGNDETAILS21 to get 20% off your purchase of $50 or more.Latest VIP Patrons:RaiseaplantAndrew FrankOlowu AbayomiDavid EastPaige MariucciAlfredo ContrerasAndrewMiguel SalvadorGolden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping pr

This week, we talk about Twitter’s new follow buttons. Are they a mistake? Or a fix for something broken that we’d all become used to? Our opinions on buttons emerge! In The Sidebar, we talk about what to do with time off.Sponsor:Baronfig makes tools for thinkers: guided journals, simple notebooks, writing instruments, bags, desk organizers, travel accessories, and more. Their products are beautiful, functional, and simple — we use them and love them. Use the promo code DESIGNDETAILS21 to get 20% off your purchase of $50 or more.Latest VIP Patrons:MacarenaEunice KimJeanIvy MukherjeeAkhil LochenJak StronstadJing JinAgnieszka KroczekNickyGolden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just rai

This week, we talk about Yelp’s new logo and app icons, Apple’s new child safety initiatives, and the miniature masterpieces of the Olympic pictograms. In the Sidebar, we curate practical negotiation tips, strategies, and concepts to help you through a job change.Sponsor:Baronfig makes tools for thinkers: guided journals, simple notebooks, writing instruments, bags, desk organizers, travel accessories, and more. Their products are beautiful, functional, and simple — we use them and love them. Use the promo code DESIGNDETAILS21 to get 20% off your purchase of $50 or more.Latest VIP Patrons:Madeline WZhu NanMartinTim BalzerVanessa LinLuis YujaMichael WallaceJackiel RothschildGolden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designd

This week, we talk about the new Pixel 6 announcement, how it stacks up against the competition, and what we’re most excited about. In The Sidebar, we share our design regrets: things we shipped that ended up being mistakes in hindsight.Sponsor:Baronfig makes tools for thinkers: guided journals, simple notebooks, writing instruments, bags, desk organizers, travel accessories, and more. Their products are beautiful, functional, and simple – we use them and love them. Use the promo code DESIGNDETAILS21 to get 20% off your purchase of $50 or more.Latest VIP Patrons:Martin TotevLouihb (pronounced louieeee)Fabricio TeixeiraAlessio TeclemeThuyrannosaurusRob EdwardsLioYves JakobClaudioLuckyNiroshanPowers TehDamon AholaJing WangStephen ChenJoel LaughlinDul ZorigooGolden Ratio Supporters:Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring prod

This week, we dig into questions like: who should design a team’s visual style guide? And: who should break a tie in subjective aesthetic arguments? In The Sidebar, we share our tips and strategies for succeeding as a new designer in a large organization.Latest VIP Patrons:Max KaplunDaveMichael SchultzMJZach OuderkerkenChris DonerMichelle LuoAntonDemetruisNate UlrichCindy RhodesTobias NegeleTed ChangThe Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.Main Topic:This week, we talk about who actually leads UI design within an organization, teasing apart questions like: who should design a team’s visual style guide? Who should break a tie in subjective aesthetic arguments? And more!itaydre asks on GitHub: It's been challenging to develop a new design system without an existing visual style guide, so I'm trying to explore more about the work behind designing UI

This week, we talk about the new Microsoft emoji, a cool Android 12 feature, the joy of watching Apple iterate in public, and the new “King of Buttons” aka the Steam Deck. In The Sidebar, we talk about the challenge of having work that is NDA-locked, or never shipped at all.Latest VIP Patrons:AlexDylanRaphael LeeKarina KedoJustin StahlThe Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.Main Topic:This week, we talk about the new Microsoft emoji, a cool Android 12 feature, the joy of watching Apple iterate in public, and the new “King of Buttons” aka the Steam Deck.Windows redesigned their emoji and they’re gorgeous.Android 12 will have a great way to handle auto-rotation and now iOS feels broken by comparison.The new Safari is taking a few steps back on macOS. The changes have been controversial, and we’re happy to see some of these iterations happening in r